Social Security Legislative Bulletin

Senate Passes S.476, the "CARE Act of 2003"

On April 9, 2003, by a vote of 95 to 5, the Senate passed S. 476, the "CARE Act of 2003."

Title V of the bill is the "Savings for Working Families Act" and includes a provision relating to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that would:

Expand the individual development account (IDA) program by adding "individual development parallel accounts." These are accounts for matching funds and earnings dedicated to IDA owners at qualified financial institutions. Section 512 of the bill would exclude the IDA and parallel accounts, earnings, and any matching funds "for the purpose of determining eligibility to receive, or the amount of, any assistance or benefit," which would include SSI.

Another provision relating to SSI (section 724) would:

Require pre-effectuation review (PER) of SSI disability and blindness allowances for individuals aged 18 and over. PER would be required for 25 percent of cases in FY 2004, and 50 percent of cases for FY 2005, and thereafter. (A similar provision was passed by the House on February 13, 2003 in H.R. 4 (see Legislative Bulletin 108-1).

S. 476 now goes to the House. (Note: In the 107th Congress on July 19, 2001, the House passed a similar measure, H.R. 7, by a vote of 233-198. However, the Senate took no action on H.R. 7 in the 107th Congress.)